Is My The Crime at Black Dudley a First Edition?

The points of issue

• True first: London: Jarrolds, 1929 — the first Albert Campion novel and exceptionally scarce; no widely published set of copyright-page points for the Jarrolds printing is documented in accessible dealer or auction records, so identification rests on the Jarrolds London imprint with the 1929 date
• The first American edition, retitled The Black Dudley Murder (Doubleday Doran's Crime Club, New York, 1929), is well documented: black cloth lettered and decorated in red on the front panel and spine, dust jacket signed 'PIC' with the price present at the flap

How Jarrolds marked a first edition

• Late 1880s to about 1920: many firsts of this era carry no printing statement at all, so dating relies on the title-page date and on dated rear advertisement catalogs; later printings note reprints. Number lines do not a…
• About 1920 to about 1960: 'First published (year)' or 'First published in Great Britain (year)' on the copyright page; a first impression lists no reprints, while later printings add dated 'Reprinted' or 'New impression'…

Full Jarrolds first-edition guide →

How to verify your copy, step by step

1. Find the copyright page — the verso (back) of the title page.
2. Check for a number line or dated printing — the lowest number present is the printing; a dated first printing with no later printings listed is the tell.
3. Verify this is the UK true first — not a later-market or reprint edition.
4. Rule out a book-club edition — a blind-stamp on the rear board or a jacket with no printed price marks a book-club copy.
5. Photograph four things — the front cover, spine, title page, and copyright page — the standard record for identification.

The dust jacket

For a collectible first edition the dust jacket matters as much as the book. Confirm the jacket is present and unclipped — the printed price should still be at the corner of the flap (a clipped corner or a price-less flap can indicate a book-club issue). First-state jackets can differ from later ones in the cover art, blurbs, or review quotations; where a specific first-state jacket point is known for this title it is noted above.

Binding & format

Where multiple bindings exist, the hardcover trade issue is usually (but not always) the precedence copy — confirm against the points above. Later printings often show cheaper cloth, thinner boards, or simplified spine stamping. A simultaneous signed or limited issue, when one exists, is a distinct state from the trade first.

Is this the true first?

UK Jarrolds 1929 is the true first. The census note's US year of 1930 is incorrect: Wikipedia and multiple ABAA dealer records date the Crime Club Black Dudley Murder to 1929, the same year. Both editions are collected; because the Jarrolds first is so rare, most copies offered as firsts are the US issue.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

Doubleday Doran stated 'first edition' on Crime Club firsts, so absence of that statement marks a later printing; UK reissues (e.g., Heinemann, 1967) carry later imprints and dates.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The Crime at Black Dudley a first edition?

A first edition of The Crime at Black Dudley by Margery Allingham (Jarrolds) is identified by: True first: London: Jarrolds, 1929 — the first Albert Campion novel and exceptionally scarce; no widely published set of copyright-page points for the Jarrolds printing is documented in accessible dealer or auction records, so identification rests on the Jarrolds London imprint with the 1929 date.

How do I tell the first printing from a later one?

Check the copyright page. A stated first edition, a number line ending in 1, or a dated first printing with no later printings listed is the key. UK Jarrolds 1929 is the true first.

Is the book-club edition the same as the first?

Doubleday Doran stated 'first edition' on Crime Club firsts, so absence of that statement marks a later printing; UK reissues (e.g., Heinemann, 1967) carry later imprints and dates.

I have a first edition of The Crime at Black Dudley — what should I do?

First, document the copy: photograph the copyright page (the number line and any edition statement) and the dust-jacket flap — an unclipped, priced jacket matters. Confirm the points of issue above against your copy, and use the free First Edition Checker to decode the printing. To sell, the author’s collecting guide covers the market. And if you are clearing books in the Albuquerque area, the New Mexico Literacy Project offers free pickup, any condition, and makes sure collectible copies are identified rather than discarded.

Glossary

First edition

Every copy printed from the first setting of type. Collectors usually want the first edition, first printing (the true first).

First printing / impression

A single press run from that setting. The first printing is the earliest and most desirable; later printings are still the first edition but not the true first.

Number line (printer's key)

A row of numbers on the copyright page (e.g. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1). The lowest number present is the printing — a line including 1 marks a first printing (Random House deliberately ends at 2).

Points of issue

Specific physical details — a stated edition, a number line, a typo, a jacket state — that identify the true first printing.

Book-club edition (BCE)

A reprint made for a book club. Tells include a blind-stamped dot or square on the rear board and a dust jacket with no printed price. Not the true first.

First thus

The first appearance of a particular version (first paperback, first illustrated, first U.S. printing) — a first of that kind, not the first edition of the work.